Kenya stun hosts and reach quarter-finals of World Rugby Sevens Series in Cape Town

Kenya topped Pool B after emerging unbeaten from their three matches ©World Rugby

Kenya enjoyed a superb first day of competition at the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series after emerging unbeaten from their three matches to top Pool B and advance to the quarter-final phase in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Kenyan team showed their form early in the day by securing an impressive 19-19 draw with England, who had finished as the runners-up to Fiji at last weekend’s season opening leg in Dubai.

However, Kenya’s highlight of the day came with a stunning 14-12 victory over South Africa, with Colins Injera and William Ambaka Ndayara running in tries to secure a surprise victory over the host nation.

They sealed top spot by earning a comfortable 36-0 victory over Zimbabwe, while South Africa consigned England to the bowl competition after beating them 10-0 to advance to the quarter-finals as runners-up in the pool.

Following their excellent start Kenya are set to face the United States, after they finished second in Pool C following wins against Portugal and Wales.

The American team’s only defeat came at the hands of Australia, who emerged as 26-21 victors on the way to finishing top of the pool with three straight wins to set up a quarter-final against the hosts.

Last year’s series winners Fiji carried on from where they left off in Dubai, as they cruised through Pool A to emerge as only the second team to win all their matches on the opening day of competition, in front of a 55,000 crowd.

Canada earned a surprise win over New Zealand but failed to qualify from their pool ©World Rugby

They began the day with a comprehensive 34-19 victory over Scotland, before thrashing Russia and Argentina 52-0 and 43-0 respectively to maintain their status as the team to beat.

Despite their mauling at the hands of the Pacific Islanders, Argentina had already assured themselves of progression having beaten Russia 33-5 in their opening match, before edging a tight match with Scotland 19-14.

Argentina will be forced to defeat Pool D winners New Zealand if they want to progress to the semi-finals, but the Kiwis suffered a major shock after they were surprisingly beaten 24-12 by Canada.

A draw against France and a defeat to Samoa mean that the Canadian team would narrowly miss out on a quarter-final date with Fiji, as France progressed having scored just two more points than their rivals in their three matches.